India’s Demand For New Planes Exceeds Availability

The Ministry of Civil Aviation in India has expressed concern over the rising need for new planes to meet the needs of the country’s largest airlines.

Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday at the CAPA India Aviation Conference in New Delhi that the country must have its aviation infrastructure and capacities in place by 2047 to “support a $20 trillion economy.”

The Minister also said he would let airlines lease more planes to address the capacity issue.

“Surprisingly and shockingly, the situation has turned the other way. ” We do not have enough planes to fly our passengers,” he told the aviation cohort.

Reuters reports that the government of India has modified its plane leasing scheme to expand the number of available planes using methods such as wet leasing.

As the aviation sector continues to recover from the pandemic, several airlines throughout the globe are placing large orders for new planes to increase their fleet size.

There would be an annual need for 4,200 flight attendants and 900 pilots to support Air India’s recent announcement of a massive purchase of over 500 new aircraft.

There were two separate orders placed by Air India: one with Airbus for 250 planes and another with Boeing for 290 jets (if all options are used).

Akasa Air’s CEO Vinay Dube has also dropped hints that the Indian airline may place a large order for new planes in the near future.

“There will be a large order for planes before the year is through. I won’t say precisely how many, but know that it has three digits and is very important.” Dube stated in March of 2023 that Akasa planned to employ 300 pilots in the following year.

The airline now operates 17 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with 72 due to arrive by March 2027.